There are various devices with a camera unit known in the current state of technology, whereby the camera unit is frequently designed with a closure unit, which also is a component of the device and which can be installed on the rear of a motor vehicle. These types of camera units include a camera that is held in a casing and can move between a withdrawn position and a video image position.
For example, these types of camera units can be used to be of assistance when parking motor vehicles. If, for example, the transmission gear is put in reverse, the camera moves from the withdrawn position to the video image position and the camera is at least partially guided out of an opening in the casing of the camera. Thus, the area behind the motor vehicle is captured as an image through the camera and is shown on a display for the driver of the motor vehicle. If the driver has stopped backing up and the transmission gear is taken out of reverse, the camera can be moved back again from the video image position to the withdrawn position.
According to the present design of the camera unit, a cover piece is designed to protect the camera from getting dirty, at least in the withdrawn position. The cover piece can close off the opening in the casing of the camera unit in the withdrawn position. Consequently, for the transfer from the withdrawn position to the video image position of the camera, the cover piece must be moved between a closed position and an open position when the camera is switched from the withdrawn position to the video image position.
In DE 60 2004 003 255 T2, a camera unit is unveiled that serves as parking assistance for the driver of a vehicle. The camera unit features a cover piece that is movable from a closed position to an open position, and vice versa. However, the activation of the cover piece and the activation of the camera feature a complex structure with a number of individual elements.
DE 10 2007 052 402 unveils another device with a camera unit, which serves to capture video image of the external area of a motor vehicle. The movement of the cover piece shown therein relative to the camera is comprised of several movement steps, such that a complex kinematic activation of the cover piece is necessary. In particular, a linear motion of the camera must be combined with a lifting-swiveling movement of the cover piece. Causing these types of movements disadvantageously requires a substantial construction-related effort, and the movement track of the camera and the cover piece must always take place in the context of a space of movement that is too minimal.
A camera unit with a camera is known from JP 02 031 957 A, in which the movement of the camera between the withdrawn position and the video image position is generated via a spindle, which by a drive unit, can be shifted, e.g. by a rotating motor to a rotational movement. The camera is fastened to a spindle nut that runs along the extension of the spindle if it is rotating. However, these types of spindle-nut systems are very slow to generate the movement of the camera and, if applicable, a cover piece on the camera because the speed of the nut on the spindle is determined by the gradient of the spindle thread. Moreover, a spindle-nut system causes more operational noises, which are regarded as a disadvantage.